Great news. While unexpected, Nicky Hager who was an expert witness for Assange at the trial, thought this might be a possibility when he spoke to the Fabian Society in November. More details tomorrow.
Justice Baraitser has refused extradition on the grounds that possible confinement in a US high security prison would be likely to lead Julian Assange to commit suicide. Nils Melzer the UN special rapporteur on torture said the same thing about his confinement in Belmarsh Prison. In all other respects the judge accepted the arguments of the US-led prosecution.
It is likely that in the end that had she allowed extradition Baraitser would have been a pariah in the UK legal fraternity, so a pretext was found to allow the prosecution argument to stand but not be effective.
This is not a victory for press freedom, but is a victory for all those who have stood up for Assange, for Wikileaks and for fearless investigative journalism. Sadly that has not included most of the mainstream press in the US and the UK, and also it must be said in New Zealand.
In my opinion the best commentary has been found in the blogs – Consortium News, Caitlin Johnstone, Craig Murray to name a few. Also a shout out to Alex Hills and her friends at FreeAssangeNZ.
The US has announced it will appeal. Assange’s request for bail will be heard on Wednesday.
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